Summary: Arakure (Wild Ones), Vol 2, Chp 6

This chapter begins with Raizo visiting his friend Ume, the innkeeper from the previous chapter. Raizo asks Ume how his health is and Ume tells him that his health is poor. He then asks Raizo to take care of his grandson, Azuma, because he will hospitalized and Azuma’s parents are dead. Raizo agrees.

Meanwhile back at the house, Sachie is preparing to go out. Her yakuza protectors give her stuff to take with her like tea, a fan, and a diaper (for lengthy stays outside). Igarashi catches her before she can go out and asks if she’s done her summer homework yet. Of course, Sachie hasn’t, so Igarashi with a gleeful look leads her back to her room to do her homework. The other yakuza lament that they can’t help Sachie because they don’t know kanji (I guess this means they are illiterate). Igarashi tells Sachie if she finishes her homework today, then tomorrow they can have fun at the school sponsored summer camp (a 3 day, 2 night camp). Sachie has a hard time doing her homework and asks if Igarashi can help her understand it. Iragashi replies that he doesn’t mind since it gives him an excuse to monopolize her. Sachie is startled and remembers the beach “embrace” in which she asked if he would let her be beside him and he telling her that no one but he would be beside her. When Sachie comes out of her daze, Igarashi is playing with her hair and pulls out a bit of trash to tease her. Sachie then remembers that her grandfather, Raizo, is returning from visiting Ume, so they both go off to greet him.

They welcome Raizo and Raizo introduced Azuma, letting everyone know that due to Ume’s illness, Azuma was going to stay with them for the time being. Azuma introduces himself and explains that his parents have been dead since he was young. Igarashi is shocked and displeased. Sachie feels sympathy for Azuma and pledges to care for him in anyway possible to which Azuma says that when he needs to cry he will seek her shoulder and then gives Sachie a hug. This earns Azuma a “flick” to the forehead that knocks him to the ground from Igarashi, who has now taken Sachie into his other arm. Everyone sees this and wonders what just happened. Igarashi explains that they was a bug on Azuma’s head and it must have run away.

Onto the summer camp … All the girls are swooning over the new student, Azuma. Azuma immediately calls out to Sachie, calling her “Sa-schan,” a very intimate nickname. Everybody is now curious as to how Sachie and Azuma know each other and what is their relationship. Azuma tells the curious girls that they live together under the same roof. Igarashi butts in and informs everyone that Azuma has barely settled in and that the three of them actually all live together. He makes some reference to some traditional Japanese clogs, and Sachie explains that it isn’t often that she wears a kimono, which leads the curious girls to believe that Sachie is a princess with a boy harem.

One of the camp leaders calls out that it’s time to break into teams to prepare the meal. Igarashi tricks Azuma with a colored stick pull (Azuma pulls red while Igarashi and Sachie pull blue). Sachie begins to prepare curry, when the girls stop her stating that they can’t allow a princess like her to do such menial tasks. They tell her to go away and sit. Soon Sachie gets bored and ends up washing the rice and preparing curry anyway. They are amazed at her skill and enthusiasm and compare her to a bride.

As they eat the curry, one of the girls tells Sachie about he dance party tradition. She’s says a proposal to be dance partners is made by offering your name tag to the chosen one. Then the girl start giggling about Igarashi and wonders who he’s going to dance with because last year he danced with every girl that asked (30 of them). Sachie wonders if the dance is just a folk dance in which the boys have to dance with every girl anyway. She seems quite annoyed at the idea that Igarashi danced with so many girls last year. Sachie and her friends go off to take a bath when they come out, some girls are gossiping about how Igarashi is declining girl’s dance proposals. Sachie blushes and calls herself stupid for even thinking about it. Meanshile, Azuma has been given an arm full of name tags and approaches Sachie to show his bounty. But Sachie is running off upset and in tears with her name tag in hand.

Someone sneaks up behind Sachie and covers her eyes. Sachie thinks it Azuma and reacts with annoyance. To her pleasant surprise, it’s Igarashi and he tells her to cover her eyes because there’s some place he wants to take her. They run off into a open field and then Igarashi tells her she can open her eyes, and there they are in the middle of fireflies (of course!!! how cliched can you be?!!!). He says he found the spot last year and wanted, this year, to let Sachie see it. Sachie, now feeling braver, offers her name tag — she’s beet red and nervous. Igarashi bows deeply, his hands holding hers, his face to her hands and apologizes that he cannot accept her offer. He explains that he is the class president and, therefore, he cannot escort her to the dance party. Sachie leaves very upset and embarrassed, but she tries to tell herself to not show her embarrassment on her face. She runs off and Igarashi calls out to her to no effect.

Sachie goes off to the sidelines of the camp hub-bub to sulk. Azuma approaches her and asks what’s with her face. Sachie shakes it off saying that she didn’t get enough sleep. Azuma then offers her his name tag which Sachie accepts and agrees to be his partner at the dance party. Igarashi walks onto the scene and is saddened. His face is red and he is winded from running to find Sachie. As Igarashi approaches, Azuma grabs Sachie and tells Igarashi that Sachie has agreed to be his dance partner. Sachie confirms Azuma’s claim and off they go to enjoy themselves. Igarashi is not pleased. And then for some reason Sachie has taken off for the woods with Azuma following behind. Sachie’s name tag gets tugged off of her by a branch and goes flying off into the distance. Sachie laments that there is no point in going after her name tag now. Azuma starts putting the moves on her and then they fall off the “mysterious anime/manga forest cliff”.

Meanwhile back at the camp ground, everyone is inside because it has started to rain. One of the students reports that Sachie and Azuma have not reported to the checkpoint. Igarashi leaves to find Sachie. Meanwhile back in the forest, Sachie has landed on Azuma. They find the proverbial cave to hide in until the rain stops. Azuma asks Sachie if she likes Igarashi and Sachie denies her feelings saying that Igarashi is a cranky ill-mannered person. Azuma is overjoyed and enthusiastically adds that Igarashi seems like an sly person and eggs Sachie on, telling her to shout to the mountains what she thinks of Igarashi. Sachie shouts, “Igarashi is a pitiful prevert! … but,” now quietly talking, with her hands over her mouth and blushing, continues, “he’s not inconsiderate.” She remembers how he helps her with her studies and went to buy her a watermelon. “He always makes me happy,” she continues, now crying into her hands. Igarashi hears this (he’s close by) and Azuma starts to talk with resignation and then Igarashi calls out to Sachie and she takes off running into his awaiting arms. Igarahshi asks if Sachie is okay and tells her that he was worried (everyone has forgotten about poor Azuma — so sad). Igarashi then lifts Sachie up princess-like, saying that it seems she has strained her ankle so he will now carry her to the medical room. Azuma whines that Sachie is his dance party partner to which Igarashi replies, “Too bad, someone else is taking her away.” And the girls are all happy because Azuma is single again.

Fast forward to the nurse’s office … Sachie tells Igarashi that her ankle is fine to which Igarashi says it was a “misunderstanding” on his part (meaning he said it as an excuse to pick Sachie up and take her away from Azuma and the dance party). He then, on bent knees, offers Sachie his name tag and asks to dance with her in the nurses office. Meanwhile, now the rain has stopped the dance party has begun. Outside the girls are talking about a message from the class president. He said that the class officers could now escort a dance partner. Poor Azuma is dancing with some pudgy, curly haired woman. Back in the nurse’s office, Igarashi and Sachie are dancing. Sachie says she thought he couldn’t dance with a partner because he’s the class president. He reminds her that they aren’t at the dance party. And the chapter closes with three frames: the first with a happy Igarashi, the second with a disappointed Azuma dancing with some random girl, and the third with Sachie looking embarrassed. The headline reads, “Slowly the summer night passes”.